The right-to-buy offers tenants discounts of up to £100,000 on council homes. Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian

People who purchase their council homes at a discount should be banned from letting them out, according to a north London councillor.

Under the right-to-buy, tenants may purchase their council homes at discounts of up to £75,000 (£100,000 in London), but there are no rules prohibiting the new owner from then immediately letting the property out.

But Camden councillor Julian Fullbrook said he was looking into creating leglisation that prohibited new houses that Camden council build from becoming buy-to-let properties through the right-to-buy. Fullbrook told Inside Housing:

When we build new homes, we want people to live in them and play an active part in the local community. We experience problems when private landlords don't keep an eye on who is living in their properties.

The call follows research by London Assembly member Tom Copley that found 36% of homes sold in the capital under the right-to-buy are now let by private landlords.

The report also found a "substantial" number of the former council properties are now privately let to tenants supported by housing benefit, at prices of up to £100 a week more expensive than a social tenancy.

Copley said:

Right-to-buy currently represents incredibly poor value for money to taxpayers.

Not only did [councils] pay to build the home in the first place, they then subsidised the considerable discounts offered to tenants and then missed out on the rental income that would have covered the build costs.

Now, we have the indignity of London boroughs renting back their former council homes at higher market rent levels.

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